Many robots are electro-mechanical machines, which are controlled by a computer. Mobile robots have the capability to move around in their environment and are not fixed to one physical location. An example of a mobile robot that is in common use today is an automated guided vehicle or automatic guided vehicle (AGV). An AGV is typically considered to be a mobile robot that follows markers or wires in the floor, or uses a vision system or lasers for navigation. Mobile robots can be found in industry, military and security environments. They also appear as consumer products, for entertainment or to perform specific tasks such as vacuum cleaning and home assistance.
In order to achieve full autonomy, a mobile robot needs to possess the ability to explore its environment without user-intervention. Mobile robots rely on information collected from various different sensors in order to navigate an environment. Many mobile robots rely on wheel odometers in order to obtain odometry data, which may include information regarding a distance travelled by the mobile robot. Wheel odometers generally measure the accumulated rotation of the wheels to determine the distance traveled. Such a direct-mechanical-contact method of odometry is reliable in applications where direct no-slip mechanical contact is reliably maintained between the mobile robot (wheels, treads, etc.) and the surface. However, maintaining this no-slip contact becomes difficult on certain types of surfaces that may be frequently encountered by mobile robots, including deep carpets, slippery surfaces, dirt or sand environments, among other similar types of surfaces.